Student Producer Orchestrates a New Album

Old Dominion University Senior Cameron Cloman is a musician, songwriter and producer who wants to take you on a journey with his newest project “Concerto Grosso.”

Cloman’s sixth hip-hop project, “Concerto Grosso” is a free album built on the concept of classical pieces, meaning that it has three movements that sound completely different but flow cohesively. It’s set to release online on Nov. 22.

Formerly known as Cello Kid, Cloman is now producing hip-hop music under the stage name Cello Figaro. He derived both of these names from his roots in classical music.

Cloman is a classically trained cellist whose musical talent took root at age 12 in small town Sanford,N.C..

“When I first got into music it was through orchestra… I eventually just branched off into recording and writing my own stuff. I just keep ‘cello’ in my name as a reminder for what music did for me early on. Before that, I was kind of lost.” Cloman said.

Cloman described his first music program in Sanford as low-funded. Orchestra students actually had to practice their instruments in a storage closet. Although it was rough, Cloman said the experience was fun because it had a “garage band feel.”

Cloman continued to play the cello seriously through high school. However, when he reached ODU’s campus he decided to expand his musical reach into other instruments such as the harmonica and piano. Colman said he still keeps it in the family when it comes to his favorite instrument. The string family that is.

“I’d have to say the guitar… You can make so many different noises and emotions come out of a string instruments…. The guitar is one of those instruments thats like the human voice in a way. There’s so many ways your voice can display different emotions without having words,” he said.

Cloman also enjoys playing synthetic instruments, a little bit of beat making and the production process. He said he prefers the production process over the beat making, but has experimented in both.

“I mix and match a lot… you have a song or idea or emotion already and everything after that is just thinking ‘alright, what do I need to get that across.’… I do the majority of the production myself. This time [‘Concerto Grosso’] is probably the first time I’ve really sought out other people to produce for me,” he said.

He has utilized these skills and his new proficiency in multiple instruments to convey his drive through “Concerto Grosso.”

“With this album, the emotion I want to get across is hunger… With this project, I kinda just didn’t want to get lost in the concept so much I just wanted to display hunger through my voice,” Cloman said. Not through what I’m saying but more so how I’m saying it, so that when people hear it they’re gonna know I want this more than anybody else.”

Find Cloman on Facebook and listen to his early release “The Loner’s Anthem 2” on www.hiphopsince1987.com